Preface1

PrefaceThis special issue, Ensuring Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns in Southeast Asia, addresses thetwelfth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. According to theUnited Nations, increased consumption and production have brought wealth to people and have halved the absolute
poverty rate in Asia over the last two decades. However, current unsustainable patterns of resource and energy use
and greenhouse gas and waste emissions, which are projected to keep increasing, are posing significant threats to theglobal environment.
It is not clear what sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns are required in Asia and what actions
should be taken to ensure them and by whom. Asia’s economy has been growing with unprecedented rapidity,
resulting in drastic changes to businesses and lifestyles and widening spatial and social class disparities in the regionin terms of economic benefits and environmental risks. What kinds of SCP policies should be adopted and what are
the differences between them and the policies being implemented by developed nations such as EU countries?
Additionally, the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has changed consumption and production patterns
around the world, and our actions for SCP must be revisited and adjusted to the new context. The "Policy Design andEvaluation for Establishing Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns in the Asian Region (PECoP-Asia)"
research project has been attempting to find answers to these questions, with a focus on Southeast Asia.
This special issue aims at summarizing the project’s research results and providing up-to-date suggestions on SCP
policy in Asia. The structure of this special issue is as follows: The first two articles discuss the development of SCP
policy in Asia as an introduction to the special feature. The first article, written by Hirao et al. integrates the outcomesof the PECoP-Asia project. The authors reveal three versions of SCP policy and emphasize that the situation in Asia
calls for all three versions to be implemented in a strategic manner. They also present four directions and 13
opportunities for SCP policy in Asian countries. The 13 opportunities include insights gained in light of thecoronavirus pandemic. The second article, by Hotta et al., further elaborates the three SCP policy versions, 1.0 to 3.0.
The authors argue that a life-cycle approach is important in SCP 2.0, and they devise and explain a new approach forSCP 3.0, “envisioning-based policy making (EnBPM).”The articles thereafter present the results of 10 research groups: Onozuka et al. propose a method for quantifying
narrative scenarios based on the concept of participatory backcasting for better envisioning; Tasaki and Kojima
discuss regional and local characteristics in Asia that may potentially affect SCP patterns and policies in SoutheastAsia; Kobayashi et al. propose a framework for locally oriented product design using an extended function-structure
map and a mixed prototyping environment; Wu et al. analyze how individual environmental-management control
tools for companies promote SCP activities at Thai and Vietnamese companies; Phuphisith et al. evaluate theeffectiveness of providing information with life-cycle thinking in changing consumer behavior; Matsumoto et al.
analyze consumer acceptability of remanufactured products; Yoshida et al. survey and discuss the actual use of air
conditioners by households in Vietnam and policy approaches for reducing energy consumption when cooling;
Murakami et al. investigate actual disposal of motorcycles in Cambodia and measures for resource recycling;
Tsurumi et al. discuss subjective well-being in Asia, which is the ultimate goal of SCP; and Takagi et al. illustrate themanagement of SCP linkages with economic, social and environmental agendas connected with the SDGs.
This special issue is based on research activities performed by the Environment Research and Technology
Development Fund’s S-16 project (JPMEERF16S11600) supported by the Environmental Restoration andConservation Agency of Japan (FY2016–2020).
Guest Editors
Tomohiro TASAKI
Masahiko HIRAO